Posts

Hachnasa Sefer for a 15cm Torah

15cm sefer is a bit too small to let kesivas osiyos, anyone ever heard of doing sewing instead?

How to attach the tefillin knot to the bayis

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R' Melech Michaels is a talmid of R' Avrohom Tzvi Wosner and has kabboloh from the Va'ad Mishmereth Sta"m. There's also an incidental product placement for Beis HaSta"m.

Reish / yud shailo in Gett

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The reish from "Geoffrey" . The Gett was already written and sent with a shliach, and the shailo noticed by the receiving Beis Din. So it cannot be fixed... Does it need to be rewritten?

על מצות בדיקת תפילין בזמנינו

Bedika

Mezuzah at car dealership

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This yid owns a car dealership and is very proud of his mezuzah at the entrance to his show room: But is such a case Halachically acceptable?

Gimmel?

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Article in online news about Safrut and Sofrim

Canadian Jewish News featured yesterday online. Also, a beautiful YouTube video showing a Sofer STaM: Click here .

Inverted Nun's

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Very old sefer Torah.  Has anyone ever seen this minhag of the inverted nun's  seems problematic to me.

A few recent shailahs

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I am very excited to announce this course. It is unique in that it is the ONLY course which offers both practical training in כתיבה coupled with a rigorous curriculum of הלכה, quizzes and tests, and Shiurim. I will be running this between Sukkos and Pesach as well B'ezras Ha'shem. Please email me for the full syllabus, cost, requirements etc.

Do these Judaica artists know they are committing fraud???

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Just went to one of the wealthiest families in the country to put up mezuzos. They spent thousands purchasing mezuzos from the finest galleries and boutique shops in Israel. As a traditional Orthodox family they asked and were assured everything was kosher. I decided to do a quick inspection and, believe it or not, every single mezuzah but one was a paper print! Very unpleasant explaining to these nice people that they'd been comprehensively defrauded... UPDATE Since writing the above post, I emailed this link to some of the vendors, with an explanatory email as to why their selling counterfeit mezuzos, while possibly not a concern to them, is unacceptable and shocking to some of their clients. I have added some of their names in the labels below, so that people searching for their products may come across this post and be warned . Am I wasting my time? Who knows. But the more people they hear it from the better. At least two of these are very popular Judaica artists and if I

botched correction

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out of town sofer gave me this parsha to check while he was visiting. I found that he  wrote כי twice,  I  instructed him to 1.erase first yud and second kuf  2.widen the kaf  gradually. he corrected it and left town. As our minhag we recheck prshios that needed correction. I have a sofek as it looks currently, however since correction was done gradually we must also view it at every step of the way if it had a shinui tzura

Humongous mezuzah at Ben Gurion Airport

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On my way to the departure gates at Ben Gurion Airport, I noticed the mezuah on the wall before the duty free shopping area. So, my thought was what size / what kind of kulmus made was used to write these letters?

Thoughts on reish?

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Thoughts on Reish?

Lishmoh controversy

I have always been in the practice of saying "kol mah s'hani osay hayom..." before switching on my desk lamp and working for the day, as a precaution lest I forget to say "leshaim" before making a correction or even a kesher etc. I have always understood that this is bedieved OK and covers you if you forget. I instruct my staff who sew tefillin to do the same. Yet recently, someone told me that this is not worth anything and if you forget you cannot be "covered" by a proclamation at the beginning of they day. He did not provide me with any sources but if anyone knows if there is basis to this, please comment...

Vov of vehoyu

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It looked ok from far, but after a closer examination, is could well be a kosher zayin...

Do Yekkis have a mesora for setuma in parshios?

Is anyone aware or have sources for the mesora for yekkis as to whether they should make the setuma in parshios according to the Rambam or Taz?

Kaballah Tagin

When checking someone's private tefillin (or mezuzos) , is a  magiha obligated to amend Tagei Kabollah that are not written correctly? (i.e. add if they are missing, scratch out if extra?) Most people I have asked over the years including those I learned from say not to. But I consistently see (mostly in) tefillin where these have been altered, most likely by others who have checked before me. It seems some are definitely those out there who feel strongly enough to do this. (Sometimes I even see the kaballah tagin have been played with but seemingly more necessary repairs overlooked.) Id be interested to hear what others have to say about this?

RABBI ZIRKIND TEFILIN

I search ebay periodically trying to find stolen tefilin.In Brooklyn iyt has become a makat medina, so far I have not seen any surface on ebay. I did come across this post and it seems legitimate , if anybody is interested and needs somebody local to look at them I can try to help. I have not contacted the seller nor do I know who it is http://www.ebay.com/itm/Tefillin-Written-By-Lubavitcher-Rebbes-Personal-Scribe-/172149881960?hash=item2814eebc68:g:hoUAAOSwSHZWe~~H You are bidding on two beautiful pairs of tefillin - a Rashi and a Rabainu Taam set, written by the late Rabbi Eliezer Zirkind (crownheights.info/notices/442422/boruch-dayan-hoemes-rabbi-eliezer-zirkind-83-obm/), the Lubavitcher Rebbe's personal scribe. They are extremely rare, in great condition, and were checked roughly three years ago. 

Siyum Sefer Torah during Sefriah days?

I want to know if some circles will do a siyum sefer torah during the sefirah days. (I understand that there is a debate among Ashkenazim and Sefardim about how one counts the mourning days.)  Here is my conclusion: During the S efirah  days (the days between  Pesach  and  Shavuos ), the Poskim differ if one may perform a siyum sefer torah with dancing and music,  it seems proper to avoid unless there are particular circumstances that preclude the celebration being done at another time. Certainly on  Lag B’Omer  one could make a siyum sefer torah since it is a day of celebration. Likewise a few days prior to  Shavuos  one may make a siyum sefer torah. My reasoning: Shulchan Aruch Harav (Orach Chayim 493:1)  holds that one is not allowed to dance [nor play music] even for the sake of a mitzvah during the sefirah days. (See however  Hiskashrus (vol. 246)  which understands the view of the  Shulchan Aruch Harav  differently to even allow making a siyum sefer torah during the sef